ASEAN events and summits under Vietnam's chairmanship year might be conducted online: diplomat

Updated: 11:05’ - 13/04/2020

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung said there is a possibility ASEAN events and highly anticipated summits could be held online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ASEAN Special Summit and the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response will be held online on April 14 with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairing over the events as ASEAN Chair 2020, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung announced.

With Vietnam in the role of ASEAN chairman in 2020, Dung told a press briefing in Hanoi on April 9 they are not ruling out the possibility of hosting events in a teleconference format.

He also informed the press of the postponement of the 36th ASEAN Summit and ASEAN-New Zealand Leaders' Summit from April 8-9 to the end of June in the central city of Da Nang.

The ASEAN Special Summit and the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response will be held online on April 14 with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairing over the events as ASEAN Chair 2020, the diplomat announced.

Vietnam, as ASEAN 2020 Chair, has been proactively promoting joint efforts of the 10-member group in the fight against COVID-19 with the spirit of being "cohesive and responsive", Dung said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dung said after consulting ASEAN leaders, Prime Minister Phuc issued the ASEAN Chairman's Statement on February 14, affirming the bloc’s strong determination and political commitment to control and prevent the pandemic.

The ASEAN Coordinating Council, composed of ASEAN Foreign Ministers, held two sessions on March 20 and April 9 under the chair of Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to discuss measures for stronger collaboration within the bloc and its partners.

Emergency response mechanisms in ASEAN and its partners namely China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ASEAN+3) have been launched right after the disease outbreak.

The ASEAN defense ministers, economic ministers, and ministers in charge of tourism have issued statements and agreed on measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

As ASEAN 2020 Chair, Vietnam pushed the establishment and organization of the teleconference of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies on March 31 to take steps to implement intra-bloc coordination against COVID-19 in the future.

Specific recommendations included containing the spread of the pandemic; supporting affected people in ASEAN countries, including those living, working and studying in each other's member states and in the third countries; and mitigating the disease’s impact on socio-economic development.

The ASEAN countries also pledged to strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, share efforts, and enhance resilience to cope with the pandemic.

At the meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council, ministers agreed to hold the ASEAN Special Summit and the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response online on April 14. The events will be presided over by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is Chair of ASEAN and Chair of ASEAN+3.

The countries’ leaders are expected to adopt a joint statement of ASEAN Special Summit and another of the ASEAN+3 Special Summit on COVID-19 Response reaffirming their strong commitment and determination in preventing and eliminating the risks of the pandemic that threaten people's lives and socio-economic stabilization of the member states.

In response to reporters’ queries about evaluating the cooperation of the US and China with ASEAN in the COVID-19 fight, Deputy Foreign Minister Dung, who is head of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Vietnam, said Vietnam supports the two powers in promoting their role in the world, adding that the country has also cooperated with the two countries since the beginning of the outbreak.

Within the framework of ASEAN, China was the first country, then the US and the European Union (EU), to have first meetings with the bloc in this joint effort. This is the hope and endeavor of the ASEAN countries to strengthen partnerships with these countries.

“We have received very strong commitments from China and the US in supporting and uniting with ASEAN in fighting the pandemic,” he said.